Not to be confused with Fairlight Cove, which is 2km away, and officially shown on the map as Covehurst Bay.
History was made at Fairlight in 1978 when the local council designated it an official naturist beach – the UK’s first, although plenty of beaches were used naked well before then. Fairlight has had some access problems in the past due to coastal erosion, but regulars work hard to reopen it and at the time of writing it has very well built steps cut into the earth cliff. Naturists have returned too, and 100 or more bare bathers might gather on a sunny weekend. The bay faces south and has shingle with sand at low tide. The limestone cliffs and woodland backdrop make a beautiful place to relax as nature intended. If you walk west beyond the main bay towards Hastings, be careful not to get cut off by the tide, while to the east lie cliffs and deserted bays waiting to be explored.
There were signs in 2007 which stated that access to the beach was not recommended. However, new wooden steps have now been built in the steeper patches of the track, and there is even a bench halfway up. The steps that have recently been installed are very good and allow easy access to the beach. Note that the council are not prepared to maintain the access, so caution should be exercised in case the situation has changed.
Location
The beach is located in East Sussex, about four km West of Hastings
Access and Parking
The easiest access to the beach is to walk in from the car park located just off of Fairlight Road - although it would also be possible to park in Fairlight village, or on the Western edge of Hastings and walk to the beach from both of these locations. The Fairlight Road car park is signed for ‘Hastings Country Park’ and is located on a reasonably tricky bend in the road, which makes it easy to miss. The car park is opposite Barley Lane, whose post code is: TN35 5DT
The car park is reasonably large (30-40 spaces) and operates on a pay and display basis (£4 for a full day).
To access the beach from the car park, head South, then South West to skirt around Fairlight Place, then head South East - this is easier than it sounds. Basically, if you keep heading downhill and towards the sea you’re going in the right direction. The footpath will lead you to Fairlight Glen itself, which is heavily wooded. You have a choice of a higher and wider path than runs above the glen, or following the base of the glen itself. Either path will take you to the coast path / Saxon Shore Way - at the lowest point in this path you’ll see a sign at a break in a wooden fence telling you that access to the beach is closed (but also telling you that you can get there ‘at your own risk!’)
Take this path which will lead you down the cliff to the beach itself. The quality of the path isn’t great, but should be OK for most people. At the worst sections, steps have been cut into the cliff and a rope installed to help you down (trust me, it’s a lot easier than it sounds!)
You could also walk in along the coast path from Hastings or Fairlight Cove. It is also possible to walk along the shore from Fairlight Cove - although this would be a walk of around three km on shingle, which might not be for everyone.
The Beach
The beach is shingle along its length and reasonably narrow. It shelves quite steeply down to the sea - you’ll definitely want to bring something to lie on and some shoes / sandals if you’re planning to move about the beach.
From the access path to the beach, there is around 1.5 km of perfectly usable beach as you head East, so plenty of space for everyone - although the beach gets quieter the further you go from the access path. There are some reasonably large rocks on the beach itself, but its possible to get around these without too many problems.
There is a path which runs directly above and behind the beach which may be helpful if you’re planning to head East from the access path and don’t fancy walking along the shingle.
The beach is sheltered and safe for swimming, although the water shelves very quickly which might be a problem for less strong swimmers. This also sometimes leads to waves breaking quite abruptly, which again might be a problem for some.
There are no facilities on the beach. The nearest public toilets are in the car park.
Naturism
The beach has been long established for naturism and has a couple of DIY ‘FKK’ signs in place along the access path. It isn’t currently ‘official’ (not that that makes any difference) but has been in the past. When I’ve visited the beach has been mixed between naturists and non naturists - but with naturists in the majority. As you go further East from the access path, the beach becomes progressively more naturist.
Updated 5.5.19 AW
